Minnesota gave the hottest team in the NBA a fight for nearly 40 minutes before Raptors took control and cruised to a 137-126 win Monday night in Toronto. It’s the 15th consecutive win for the Raptors, and the 14th loss in the last 15 games for the Wolves.
The Wolves’ new-look roster, which featured point guard D’Angelo Russell making his debut, can clearly stuff the scoreboard. They scored a franchise record 81 points in the first half of Saturday’s 140-point effort in a victory over the Clippers, and they followed it up with 75 points in the first half against Toronto.
But the second half was a different story as the Raptors took control.
After only 19 points in the third quarter, the Wolves found themselves trailing by 12 to start the fourth quarter. A 12-2 run cut Toronto’s lead to two at 108-106, but that’s when the defending champions throttled into high gear and outscored Minnesota 24-7 over the next six minutes to take a 132-113 lead with three minutes to play.
Toronto’s starting five combined for a 123 points, led by 34 from Pascal Siakam. Kyle Lowry scored 27 and O.G. Anunoby finished with 25.
Russell finished with 22 points and five assists, but he scored just six points in the second half. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Malik Beasley finished with 15 points.
Up next: Wolves vs. Hornets, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Target Center.
